Air Bud currently beats Love & Basketball 62–39
The golden retriever upsets the basketball romance — childhood memory wins.
Who do you think should win?
The Verdict David vs Goliath
Air Bud beating Love & Basketball is the childhood-memory film outperforming the adult-craft film, and the explanation lives in the specific way Air Bud imprinted on a generation of viewers who saw it young enough for a dog playing basketball to feel like a miracle rather than a gimmick. Prince-Bythewood's film is the more accomplished work — the strip-basketball scene alone contains more genuine filmmaking than anything in Smith's film. But bracket voting measures something beyond accomplishment. It measures how deeply a film lodged in the voter's memory. The dog, apparently, lodged deep enough to outperform a romance that uses basketball as its primary language.
The Numbers
| Love & Basketball | Air Bud | |
|---|---|---|
| Head-to-Head | 39% | 61% |
| Overall Win Rate | 38% | 60% |
| Championships | 4 | 12 |
| Avg Decision | 2.4s | 2.2s |
| Budget | $20M | $3M |
| Box Office | $28M | $23M |
Where This Matchup Sits
Out of 60 Comedy films on the platform, Love & Basketball is in the lower half and Air Bud at #10.
When matched against other films, Air Bud can handle The 6th Man but Love & Basketball can't. What one film wins comfortably, the other loses.
Air Bud with 12 titles and Love & Basketball with 4 — the tournament record and the head-to-head point the same direction.
Critical reception (Love & Basketball at 7.3) and bracket instinct (Air Bud winning head-to-head) are pulling in opposite directions here.
Where to Watch
Availability may vary by region.
Want to pit Air Bud against something else?
Build your own bracket with any films you want.